The present invention relates to a pneumatic tire, more particularly to a left-right asymmetric tread configuration capable of improving wet performance, steering stability and noise performance in good balance.
Usually, a pneumatic tire such as passenger car tire is provided in the tread portion with circumferentially continuously extending main grooves. By increasing the widths of such main grooves, the drainage is enhanced, and wet performance may be improved. However, due to such wide main grooves, if the rigidity of the tread pattern is decreased and becomes insufficient, steering stability is deteriorated. Moreover, when a pneumatic tire provided with wide main grooves run on a smooth road surface, air in the wide main groove tends to resonate and the noise performance tends to deteriorate. Thus, the wet performance, noise performance and steering stability are contradictory.